$200,000 added onto Cowes Cultural Centre cost

OFFICIALLY, at least, the cost of the Cowes Cultural and Community Centre is still $27.2 million, as detailed on the Bass Coast Shire Council’s Engage website.
But, at this Wednesday’s council meeting, councillors will be asked to add an additional $180,000 to $200,000 to the cost of the project for public art.

According to the council agenda, there has already been an allocation of $90,000 authorised, over two years, $40,000 from the 2022/23 budget and $50,000 from the 2023/24 budget.

Now councillors are being asked to double that figure, to $180,000, but going as high as $200,000 depending on which artist is selected from the “50 experienced and qualified applications”.
“It is estimated a suitable budget for such a work would be approximately $200,000,” according to the council report.

Cape Woolamai council watcher, Graham Jolly, is in no doubt that the $200,000 should be added to the overall cost of the project.

“The build has gone well beyond the point of trying to stop it, or even to reduce the cost, but the previous council has got to be called out over this. They made a huge mistake on behalf of the ratepayers of Bass Coast,” Mr Jolly said.

He said that even on the shire’s own contract figures, the cost of the project was already more than $31 million but he estimates it will be closer to $40 million by the time it is opened.

“They’ve still got to fit it out with all the furniture and equipment and do all the landscaping and now we hear about $180,000 to $200,000 for public art.

“It’s too late to stop it now, but the council needs to include all of the costs associated with the project, and come clean on the real cost to ratepayers. They owe us that.

“But the way they’ve got their Media Engagement Policy, the councillors are simply too scared to say anything, and we may never know.”
The council could, however, have allocated a whole lot more to public art.

As revealed in the agenda for Wednesday’s council meeting, council could have allocated as much as 3% of the cost of the project, estimated to have already passed the $30 million mark, to public art, a matter of $900,000.

“In 2013 Council endorsed a recommendation to apply 3% of a major project budget to the creation of public art.”

The tabling of this item on the agenda will at least provide the opportunity for councillors to address the total cost in a public forum, unlike their meeting of September 1, 2022 when a discussion about the revised cost of the project was held behind closed doors, pursuant to Section 66 (a) of the Local Government Act 2020, whereby council’s contractual matters can be ruled as confidential.